[Kiwi]

Just a headsup to look at your exposure. IB are obviously concerned that risks are higher again - fasten your seatbelts.

IMPORTANT NOTICE regarding Intraday Margin

In light of the market volatility and the continuing turmoil in
financial services stocks, IB will eliminate intraday margin
reductions. Commencing at 10:30 P.M. EST today, contracts which
utilize value-at-risk margin models such as SPAN, Eurex, or TIMS in
the commodity sub-account. Traders may consult the account window in
the Trader Work Station to see what the overnight margin will be. We
expect that intraday margin reductions will remain suspended for
subsequent trading sessions and we will make further announcements as
market conditions develop.

Regardless of the likelihood of large, rapid changes in market
conditions, we recommend that traders examine their portfolios to
consider their exposure under extreme-move scenarios.

Interactive Brokers Risk Management

[brownsfan019]

Understandable why brokers do this, just too bad that the traders that know what they are doing get penalized as well.

[OAC]

How about firms like Amp and Global Futures ? Do they still keep their intraday margin at $300-$400 per contract ?

[Kiwi]

I am really happy that they do it.

Why?

Because they are not protecting me from myself - they are protecting me from every idiot in the customer base. And, despite the test, there are plenty of fools with IB, just not as many as with some of the low capital low margin outfits.

If your broker ceases trading or worse still goes out of business in this situation it won't be a day or two before you get access to your money, it will be an age. Not something I want to happen to me.

*** Aussie SPI down 2.9% and Taiwanese STW down 5.3% currently. Should get a nice gap down in the US.

[firewalker]

How do you know it's only for a few days?

This margin thing has been a reliable contrarian indicator this year

[OAC]

Originally Posted by firewalker »

How do you know it's only for a few days?

This margin thing has been a reliable contrarian indicator this year

You are dead right about that.
As Michael Douglas said in the movie, "Wall Street": Sheeps Get Slaughtered.

[OAC]

Actually the intraday action has been pretty normal since the open.
The idiots at IB should really double the overnight margin and kept the intraday margin the same.

[firewalker]

Originally Posted by OAC »

Actually the intraday action has been pretty normal since the open.
The idiots at IB should really double the overnight margin and kept the intraday margin the same.

Agree! I mean, have you ever seen the market move 300 points in 5 minutes? Overnight you can have these huge gaps, but intraday... doubtful...